


When Rei Came Home

by Xyliandra



Series: Reigisa Week [10]
Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Future Fish, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, M/M, Mental Instability, Reigisa Week
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-21
Updated: 2015-01-21
Packaged: 2018-03-08 11:33:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3207671
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xyliandra/pseuds/Xyliandra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nagisa told Rei he’d never forgive him if he ditched him for an exciting life of bounty hunting aliens in space and made Rei promise to come back safe.</p><p>Rei assured him that he would never choose anything over Nagisa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When Rei Came Home

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [this post.](http://brumalbreeze.tumblr.com/post/106667846057/hey-you-know-whats-really-painful-to-think)
> 
> Written for Day 3 of Reigisa Week

It was July when they found out Rei was selected for the mission. Nagisa had expected to be devastated. He wanted to go more than anything. But the space program needed a scientist. Nagisa was not a scientist. So when it was revealed that Rei was going to be going into space, Nagisa cried because he was so happy, so proud of his best friend.

Rei hadn’t even planned on working for the space program. But when Nagisa confided in him as they lay side by side, watching what was purported to be the grandest, most beautiful meteor shower in decades, when Nagisa told him that he was terrified of accomplishing his dream, because it meant he would be without his best friend, that he was sure would never be afraid if Rei was there with him, Rei changed his mind.

It was like when Rei left the track team all over again. He abandoned his dream of being a doctor and adopted the dream of working as a scientist for the space program. His advisors warned him that virtually none of his classes would count, that changing majors so late meant he would be in school forever. Nagisa told Rei it was crazy to change his entire future just for him. Rei reminded him he’d done crazier things for Nagisa before.

Rei finished the program in record time. He graduated only a year and a half behind. Nagisa had struggled his first few semesters at college. They walked together at graduation. After the ceremony, Rei laughed, tears streaming down his face, and said he had never been so happy that Nagisa failed his classes. Nagisa had to agree.

 

It was August when Rei’s training intensified. Rei stayed at the facility long after Nagisa left for home. He texted Nagisa everyday. It helped Nagisa miss him less. He wondered if Rei felt the same.

Nagisa knew Rei wouldn’t miss his birthday. Rei promised he would be there. He swore he would make up for last year, when he was nearly jumping out of a cake at a random kid’s party. Rin pulled some strings though. It worked out okay.

But Rei wasn’t at dinner. Haru let him stay at the restaurant past closing. Nagisa knew he would show up eventually. Rei was just late. Nagisa fell asleep on the couch. When Rei woke him, Nagisa laughed with relief. Then laughed with Rei as he explained he had fallen asleep in the cake that he had baked. They ate cake together until late into the night and talked about everything and nothing. Nagisa decided it may have been his best birthday ever.

 

It was September when they snuck into the Iwatobi pool. Nagisa talked Makoto and Haru and Rin to join them. Rin grumbled the most. Police officers really shouldn’t be breaking into schools in the middle of the night. Nagisa told him they just wouldn’t get caught then. Nagisa pushed for skinny dipping, but he was out voted. He tried to throw Rei’s speedo over the fence, so he’d have no choice to be naked. But Rei was taller, and apparently faster, and he grabbed Nagisa by the waist and grabbed the suit out of his hand before he could.

The stayed for hours, floating and swimming languidly. Just as dawn was breaking, Rin said they really needed to leave before they got caught. Before they left, Nagisa convinced everyone to swim one relay. He wished they had thought to swim a five person relay sooner. He had missed his Team.

 

It was October when Rei’s shuttle launched. Nagisa had planned on waking up early; he wanted to spend every possible moment with Rei before he left Nagisa and the earth far behind. But Rei let him sleep in. He woke with a start, alone in Rei’s bed. He had maybe gotten a little drunk the night before and refused to leave. Rei’s bed was big enough. And it’s not like they hadn’t shared one before.

Nagisa cursed as he rushed to get dressed, forgoing a shower in favor getting to Rei sooner. Rei’s wake-up call did not leave him much time to spend with Rei. He wanted to be mad. Angry tears had welled in his eyes. But he couldn’t be mad at Rei today. Today was too important for childish behavior like that.

Rei was already suited up when Nagisa got there. He would be strapping into the shuttle soon. A security guard had tried to keep him from the control room. He hadn’t been thrown out yet, so someone must have given the okay. Probably Rei, if his smile was anything to go by. The way his face lit up when Nagisa ran in was nothing short of breathtaking. Nagisa felt himself smiling as well.

Nagisa didn’t expect Rei to let him hug him, surrounded by their peers, where everyone could see. Rei was never keen on public affection. But when he opened his arms wide, Nagisa wasn’t going to question it. He pressed his face against Rei’s cumbersome suit and tried not to cry. Nagisa told Rei he’d never forgive him if he ditched him for an exciting life of bounty hunting aliens in space and made Rei promise to come back safe.

Rei assured him that he would never choose anything over Nagisa. And then Rei was called to board. Rei may have kissed the top of Nagisa’s head—Nagisa couldn’t be sure—and made Nagisa promise to look after himself, and eat something other than sweets in his absence.

Nagisa promised. He even meant it.

The director of the program had offered to let him watch from mission control. But Nagisa sat on the roof instead. They came up here sometimes to eat and watch the stars, dreaming of the day they would join them.

The sky was a wash of pinks and oranges when the countdown began. Rei would think it was beautiful. Nagisa wondered if Rei could see it from inside the shuttle. Probably not. But Nagisa still heard him say as much in his head.

 

It was November when they lost contact with the shuttle. At first the engineers thought it might be ‘dark side of the moon situation’, like with Apollo 13. But communication had been down too long. And there were discrepancies in the data readings beforehand.

Nagisa knew it was nothing to worry about.

 

There was no news about the shuttle by Rei’s birthday.

No news is good news, right?

Nagisa bought Rei a card anyway. He could read it when he got home.

 

It was January when the next shuttle launch was postponed. It was all over the news and it was all anyone at work talked about. Nagisa had applied for that mission. But they probably wouldn’t announce who was selected for a while now. There was talk of redesigning the shuttle. Improving it. Making it safer.

Nagisa didn’t see how it could be much safer. Rei had been responsible for a lot of the engineering on his shuttle. Rei was the smartest person Nagisa knew. He always said his shuttle was a beautiful work of art and science.

They were just postponing the project until Rei came home.  

 

It was February when Nagisa went on his first date in years. He dated casually in college, but there never seemed to be a connection. Rei didn’t date in college. He teased that Nagisa dated enough for the both of them.

Makoto set up the date. Nagisa had protested, but Makoto insisted. She was some girl Makoto had met in college or something. She was energetic and spontaneous and probably a lot of fun. Nagisa wished she was more subdued.

No one was surprised when Nagisa let her down gently after only a few dates. There wasn’t any chemistry.  She wasn’t upset, like the other girls had been. She seemed to have expected Nagisa breaking it off.

Makoto suggested he try dating a boy next time.

Nagisa didn’t really care if there was a next time.

It was March when Rin transferred precincts. The new precinct was a good drive from where Rin lived. But it was near Nagisa's apartment. He brought Nagisa cakes sometimes, after their shifts ended. Nagisa told him Rei wanted him to eat healthy food instead.

 

It was April when they held the memorial.

Rei’s family arranged it. They asked him to come. They said they knew how much he meant to Rei. That Rei would want Nagisa to be there.

Nagisa smiled and declined. Rei was alive. You don’t hold memorials the living.

Haru said it was a nice service.

 

It was May when Nagisa stopped taking his sleeping pills. The psychiatrist had prescribed them a while ago, when Nagisa had those dreams.

The dreams were over now. Rei had told him that he was okay. Rei told him all sorts of things. But Rei was very busy during the day with all his experiments. So he could only visit at night.

Nagisa wanted to be awake to see him.

 

It was June when Nagisa lost his job. He didn’t catch all the reasons they why; he couldn’t seem to focus. But it probably had to do with that psych eval last week. He peeked at the doctor’s notes while she stepped out for a minute. Her handwriting was difficult to read. Nagisa joked with Rei that sloppy handwriting must be a prerequisite for getting your degree.

“Good thing I switched majors,” Rei laughed, “My handwriting is impeccable.”

Psychosis was the one word that that stuck out in from the scribbles.

 

It was July when Rin started paying the lease on Rei’s apartment. Rei had paid a portion of it before he left, because Rei always planned ahead. But no one planned on his mission lasting so long. Who knew there was so much for him to do up there? Nagisa had paid it for a while, but then he lost his job.

Everyone was encouraging him to move, closer to them. Away from the facility. Nagisa told them he had to take care of Rei’s apartment. Nagisa reminded them that Rei is a neat freak. Can you imagine how stressed he’d be if it was all dusty when he got home?

Rin offered to help clean it when Nagisa moved away. But if he moved he wouldn’t be Rei’s next door neighbor anymore. That was the whole reason they moved to this complex. He’d figure out a way to pay for their homes. It was just for a little while. Rei would pay him back when he came home.

Rin said he got a raise at work and that he’d help pay. Rei would pay them both back when he returned. Nagisa was sure cops weren’t paid all that well. But it was nice to know that Rin believed him.

 

It was August when Nagisa told Rei he loved him. He took Rei to the lighthouse where they watched took shelter from the storm during training camp. Where Rei pointed out the constellations one by one. Where Nagisa fell in love with the stars. Where Nagisa probably fell in love with Rei, even if he didn’t know it yet.

Makoto had wanted to go with him. But Nagisa wouldn’t let him; it was a personal matter. He couldn’t stop Makoto from waiting for him on Haru’s boat though. Nagisa wasn’t going to _swim_ to the island again after all.

It took him some time to work up the courage. Rei waited patiently. He pointed out constellations to fill the silence. It was something Rei did whenever they looked at the stars, even though Nagisa now knew them just well.

“And there, of course, is the Rock Hopper Penguin constellation,” Rei said seriously, before breaking into a grin. That constellation didn’t exist. But it always made Nagisa smile when Rei gave in. Nagisa’s heart swelled.

His confession was rushed. The words spilling out before he really realized what was happening. He looked at Rei in a panic. But Rei just smiled at him gently. Fondly. He wrapped his arms around Nagisa, holding him close, kissing his hair. Rei didn’t say anything in response, but he didn’t need to.

Nagisa probably knew how Rei felt all along.

 

It was September when Rei’s family gave Nagisa the letter. Rei had written it before he left and gave it to his brother for safekeeping. He was supposed to deliver it to Nagisa if anything went wrong.

Nagisa never read the letter.

Nothing was wrong.

Rei would be home soon.

 

It was October when Nagisa finished their scrapbook. Rei had started it a while ago, back when they were still in college. He said it calmed him. His pages were minimalistic and geometric, each photo pristine. Nagisa thought it suited him.

His book went all the way back to high school, the first few pages featuring him as track star (though he vehemently argued that he was hardly a star). But then it was the first Iwatobi Swim Team photo. And the photos from training camp. And the programs from each of their race. He even saved a SPRASHU Fes! poster. And every other adventure they went on since then; each of their graduations, touring university campuses, Rei freaking out on the way to entrance exams, their trip to Australia to watch Rin and Haru compete, the giant Olympics party the Tachibanas hosted…

Nagisa’s scrapbooking style was nothing like Rei’s. It was cluttered and chaotic, with baubles glued on and photos cut into crazy shapes. One year he made Rei a page for his birthday. Nagisa had been worried he wouldn’t like it. He carefully glued on a picture of the exact spot where Rei said he would go to joint practice. He printed out a map and traced the route they jogged together. He wrote, in his neatest handwriting possible, the story of how they met.

Rei had cried when he opened it. The page still turned out kinda messy; he wasn’t very good at keeping things straight and centered. But Rei kept repeating “It’s Beautiful” over and over. He put in the scrapbook, in between his meticulously crafted pages, and proudly showed it off.

Nagisa made him pages a lot after that. Sometimes they even made them together.

When they joined the space program, it was harder and harder for them to find time to scrapbook. Nagisa took his time off to bring the scrapbook up to date.

He couldn’t wait to help Rei make pages about his time in space.

 

It was November when Kou moved in. She had quit her job and needed a place to stay because her rent was just too damn high. Nagisa wondered why she quit; she had seemed to love her job as a nutritionist. Nagisa wondered why she didn’t move in with Rin. But he wasn’t about to turn her away.

Kou made them meals every night. The food looked pretty and the meals were balanced just like Rei wanted. But Nagisa was never really hungry. He forgot to eat a lot. Kou said he was losing too much weight. That it wasn’t healthy.

Kou helped him work back up to three meals a day. She wouldn’t let him say no.

Nagisa complied.

Rei wanted him to be healthy.

 

It was December when his friends wouldn’t let him be alone. Nagisa thought they were overreacting. He was fine. He didn’t know how those scrapes got there. He must have had an itch in his sleep and scratched too hard. He wasn’t doing it on purpose. He’d remember if he was.

Right?

He lost track of time most days. Rei visited him less. He slept more. He spent a lot of time laying in bed, waiting.

Rei would be home soon.

 

It was January when Nagisa stopped waiting.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me at [xyliandra.tumblr.com](http://xyliandra.tumblr.com) or at [xyliandra-fics.tumblr.com](http://xyliandra-fics.tumblr.com)


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